Sunday 14 March 2010
Sunday 19 July 2009
Sunday 28 June 2009
Monday 15 June 2009
Thursday 11 June 2009
Wednesday 10 June 2009
Monday 8 June 2009
Tuesday 26 May 2009
Monday 11 May 2009
Saturday 21 March 2009
Friday 20 March 2009
Tuesday 10 February 2009
Thursday 11 December 2008
Sunday 7 December 2008
Friday 3 October 2008
Thursday 2 October 2008
Wednesday 1 October 2008
Monday 29 September 2008
"Westerner"
Monday 1 September 2008
Monday 18 August 2008
Sunday 20 July 2008
Friday 20 June 2008
Sunday 15 June 2008
Thursday 5 June 2008
Monday 2 June 2008
Monday 26 May 2008
Sunday 25 May 2008
Friday 23 May 2008
Thursday 22 May 2008
Wednesday 21 May 2008
Tuesday 20 May 2008
World food crisis?
"Read the international press and get convinced of the existence of a world food crisis, caused by climate changes and drought. Get impressed by publications on malnutrition, famine and food insecurity in particular for children. Remain terrified by a fatalistic feeling that one can’t change a thing. Get used to messages of international aid organizations that large amounts of money are needed to solve one food crisis after another. And yet solutions exist!
Climate change, drought, desertification and poverty are described as inevitable catastrophes of this world. Since 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) tries to find ways and means to mitigate drought, to limit the disastrous effects of desertification and to alleviate poverty.
Now, discover a series of publications on best practices to combat these catastrophes and read about success stories in this combat. Finally, ask yourself why these success stories are not applied everywhere at the largest possible scale. Why do decision makers deny the existence of solutions for these problems? Or, if they don’t, why don’t they fully invest in them? It could be so easy to change catastrophes into a brighter future.
This is the crux of the matter! Scientists have developed many methods and technologies to combat desertification successfully. They have developed ways to produce sufficient quantities of food in hostile circumstances. They have shown that there should not be a food crisis anymore, if only the right investments in efficient solutions would be made.
Let us give two examples:
1. Crop losses are caused by drought in many drylands. Rainwater is infiltrating quickly, quantities of rain are lost by runoff and evaporation. Yet, very efficient soil conditioning methods exist to stock moisture and fertilizers in the rooting zone of the soil. So, why don’t we invest in large-scale application of these soil conditioning methods?
2. Fruits are eaten everywhere. These fruits contain a number of seeds. Each seed contains a germ, out of which in the drylands new fruiting plants can be produced. Yet, we throw these seeds in the garbage bin. Why don’t we send these seeds to the developing countries, where they could help to offer free food to hungry people?
With the right investments, not in resources to destroy human life, but to help people to produce their own elementary food, vegetables and fruits, there would never be a world food crisis anymore."
Prof. Dr. Willem Van Cotthem
Scientific Consultant for Desertification and Sustainable Development
Honorary Professor University of Ghent (Belgium)
Member of the Committee for Science and Technology CST/UNCCD
Consultant for the UNCCD
Consultant for UNICEF
www.desertification.wordpress.com
Climate change, drought, desertification and poverty are described as inevitable catastrophes of this world. Since 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) tries to find ways and means to mitigate drought, to limit the disastrous effects of desertification and to alleviate poverty.
Now, discover a series of publications on best practices to combat these catastrophes and read about success stories in this combat. Finally, ask yourself why these success stories are not applied everywhere at the largest possible scale. Why do decision makers deny the existence of solutions for these problems? Or, if they don’t, why don’t they fully invest in them? It could be so easy to change catastrophes into a brighter future.
This is the crux of the matter! Scientists have developed many methods and technologies to combat desertification successfully. They have developed ways to produce sufficient quantities of food in hostile circumstances. They have shown that there should not be a food crisis anymore, if only the right investments in efficient solutions would be made.
Let us give two examples:
1. Crop losses are caused by drought in many drylands. Rainwater is infiltrating quickly, quantities of rain are lost by runoff and evaporation. Yet, very efficient soil conditioning methods exist to stock moisture and fertilizers in the rooting zone of the soil. So, why don’t we invest in large-scale application of these soil conditioning methods?
2. Fruits are eaten everywhere. These fruits contain a number of seeds. Each seed contains a germ, out of which in the drylands new fruiting plants can be produced. Yet, we throw these seeds in the garbage bin. Why don’t we send these seeds to the developing countries, where they could help to offer free food to hungry people?
With the right investments, not in resources to destroy human life, but to help people to produce their own elementary food, vegetables and fruits, there would never be a world food crisis anymore."
Prof. Dr. Willem Van Cotthem
Scientific Consultant for Desertification and Sustainable Development
Honorary Professor University of Ghent (Belgium)
Member of the Committee for Science and Technology CST/UNCCD
Consultant for the UNCCD
Consultant for UNICEF
www.desertification.wordpress.com
Monday 19 May 2008
Sunday 18 May 2008
Saturday 17 May 2008
Friday 16 May 2008
Thursday 15 May 2008
Wednesday 14 May 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)